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crash

/ˈkɹæʃ/noun, adjective, verb

crash is spelled C-R-A-S-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 35 times per million words in written English, the 2,725th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, crash means “A sudden, intense, loud sound, as made for example by cymbals” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of crash is crashes.

How many letters and syllables are in crash?

Letters5: C-R-A-S-H
Syllables1
In writing35 times per million words; the 2,725th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is crash?

Crash appears 35 times per million words in written English, the 2,725th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce crash?

  • /ˈkɹæʃ/
  • [ˈkʰɹʷæʃ]

Crash has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-crash.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of crash

  • crashes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • crashing participle, present
  • crashed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does crash mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A sudden, intense, loud sound, as made for example by cymbals.

    The piece ended in a crescendo, building up to a crash of cymbals.

  2. 2

    An automobile, airplane, or other vehicle accident.

    She broke two bones in her body in a car crash.

  3. 3

    A malfunction of computer software or hardware which causes it to shut down or become partially or totally inoperable.

    My computer had a crash so I had to reboot it.

  4. 4

    A sudden large decline in the value of money, stocks or other assets, etc., especially one that causes additional economic difficulties.

    the stock market crash

  5. 5

    informalA comedown from a drug.

  6. 6

    A group of rhinoceroses.

    One of my favorites among the terms of groups of creatures is a crash of rhinoceros. I can imagine an African guide saying to his client, “Shoot, dammit, shoot! Here comes the whole bloody crash of rhinoceros!” […] Personally, I think I’d j

  7. 7

    A sudden decline in any living form's population levels, often leading to extinction.

  8. 8

    tarlatan, mull.

  9. 9

    A type of rough linen.

adjective

  1. 1

    Quick, fast, intensive, impromptu.

    crash course

verb

  1. 1

    To collide with something destructively; to fall or come down violently.

    When the car crashed into a house, the driver was heavily injured.

  2. 2

    To cause something to collide with something else, especially when this results in damage.

    I'm sorry for crashing the bike into a wall. I'll pay for repairs.

  3. 3

    To hit or strike with force.

  4. 4

    To make a sudden loud noise.

    Thunder crashed directly overhead.

  5. 5

    slangEllipsis of gatecrash.

    We weren't invited to the party so we decided to crash it.

  6. 6

    To accelerate a project or a task or its schedule by devoting more resources to it.

  7. 7

    slangTo make or experience informal temporary living arrangements, especially overnight.

    Hey dude, can I crash at your pad?

  8. 8

    slangTo give, as a favor.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Crash in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchfracas (loud sound), écrasement, accident, crash (vehicle accident), plantage (computer malfunction), krach (sudden large decline of business)
GermanKrachen, Krach, Getöse (loud sound), Zusammenstoß, Crash, Verkehrsunfall (vehicle accident)
Portugueseestrondo (loud sound), batida (vehicle accident), pane, colisão, falha, avaria (computer malfunction)
Spanishchoque (vehicle accident), fallo, error (computer malfunction), crac (sudden large decline of business), chocar, chocarse (1. (intransitive) To collide with something…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does crash come from?

From Middle English crasshen, crasschen, craschen (“to break into pieces”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a variant of earlier *crasken, from crasen (“to break”) + -k (formative suffix); or from earlier *craskien, *craksien, a variant of craken (“to crack, break open”) (for form development compare break, brask, brash).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after crash